Gunmen kill three in Plateau attacks

Three residents of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State have been killed. Another person was injured in fresh attacks by unknown gunmen in the area.

Daniel Alamba and Joseph Luka were killed by unknown gunmen on Monday morning in Sho village of Barkin Ladi. Another man was killed a few hours later as Berom youths and Fulani regrouped for a reprisal attacks.

The fresh killings came two days after another senator was elected to replace the late Senator Gyang Dantong, who was killed in an attack two months ago.

The lawmaker representing Barkin Ladi in the House of Assembly, Gyang Fulani, was killed by unknown gunmen in a similar attack. He was replaced by his wife in last week’s by-election.

An eyewitness, who spoke in confidence, said: “Three people on a motorcycle on the road between Sho village and Barkin Ladi at 7am on Tuesday morning were ambushed and killed. Two of them died instantly while the third one escaped with bullet wounds.”

The injured was identified as Solomon Yusuf. He is said to be receiving treatment at the Barkin Ladi General Hospital.

Suspecting that the attackers were Fulani, some Berom youths, the local ethnic group, launched a reprisal in which they allegedly killed a Fulani.

The eyewitness added: “As armed Berom youths in Sho village prepared to do battle, a group of Fulani youths also mobilised and attempted to demolish the only bridge linking Sho village with Barkin Ladi. The intention to destroy the bridge was to prevent any intruder into the village and deprive security agencies from entering the area. Then, they would have gone back to the village for a battle with the Berom youths.

“But while attempting to bring down the bridge, security agencies moved in to safe the situation. The attackers fled on sighting security vehicles.”

To prevent any attack at night, the Chairman of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Emmanuel Loman, has imposed a curfew on the affected villages.

The curfew is between 8pm and 5am, beginning from yesterday. It is expected to continue indefinitely until normalcy is restored.